Research on Health Effects of Low-Level Ionizing Radiation Exposure Opportunities for the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (2014) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Radiobiology Workforce
3 The Radiobiology Workforce
Pages 53-74
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From page 53... ...
Further, although educational institutions grant graduate degrees in radio biology and radiation biology, not everyone who conducts research in the field holds a degree with that name, and not everyone who earns such a degree conducts radiobiology research, complicating the evaluation of s upply. And finally, a number of foreign institutions -- for which no data are available -- grant radiobiology degrees and some of their graduates practice in the United States.
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From page 54... ...
Physicians and other health professionals use ionizing radiation for procedures such as diagnostic imag ing, accurate placement of medical devices, and therapeutic purposes such as killing cancerous cells. In the nuclear power industry, health physicists and radiological engineers are responsible for preventing and detecting acci dental releases that might expose employees or the surrounding communi ties.
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From page 55... ...
Individuals and training programs primarily involved in applied roles such as nuclear medicine technology and radiation therapy were not included. STUDIES OF THE RADIATION HEALTH AND BIOLOGY RESEARCH WORKFORCE During the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to issues related to the radiation health and biology workforce.
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Consequently, the investigators concluded, "[T] he declining numbers of radiobiologists has the potential to threaten the quality of the didactic radiation biology education that radiation oncol ogy residents receive and could also affect research mentoring for residents" (Rosenstein et al., 2009, p.
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and the American Physical Society (APS, 2008) , participants concluded that the human capital crisis (in radiation sciences)
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Specific information on the subset of professionals who pursue research careers is lacking. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RADIATION HEALTH AND BIOLOGY RESEARCH WORKFORCE To better understand the characteristics of the radiation health and biology research workforce, the committee solicited input from three pro fessional associations: the HPS, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF THE RADIATION HEALTH AND BIOLOGY RESEARCH WORKFORCE As already noted, radiobiology research typically requires a doctoral degree. Examining the literature on the number of doctoral degrees awarded in radiobiology and related disciplines may thus provide some insight on
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From page 60... ...
Consequently, although this information gives one indication of the supply of potential future researchers, it should be interpreted with caution. Table 3-2 shows the total number of master's and doctoral degrees awarded in "health or medical physics" and "radiation biology or radio biology" from 2003 through 2012, according to NCES.8 SED data on doctoral degrees in "medical physics or radiological science" from 2010 6 TheSED is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF)
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In all, NCES reported a total of 171 doctoral degrees -- 104 in health or medical physics and 67 in radiation biology or radiobiology -- granted from 2003 through 2012 (NCES, 2005a,b, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013b) .10 However, the total number of doctoral degrees for medical physics or radiological science as assessed by the SED for a much shorter period (2010–2012)
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. Although the primary purpose of medical physics training is to prepare people to perform clinical service and consultation and to help fulfill the demand for technological advances in devices used in radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging, some of that training can be applied to research questions in the field of radiobiology.
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and is sponsored by NASA's Space Radiation Program, BNL, and the NASA–BNL Space Radiation Biology Program. DOE Scholars Program The DOE Scholars Program was created to engage undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students in DOE programs and research to allow them to explore a career at the DOE and to better understand the DOE's functions.
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Lectures are given by interdisciplinary experts. Several topics are covered: basics of radiation physics, radiation biology, and statistics; basics of radioecology and radio epidemiology; natural and anthropogenic radiation exposure; radiation effects from various sources; ionizing radiation in medicine; and practical aspects of radiation protection (Helmholtz Zentrum München, 2012)
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. Chapter 2, which addresses current directions in radiobiology research, identifies a number of unanswered questions about the human health effects of low-dose ionizing radiation exposures that require attention.
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; behavior and cognitive performance disorders; chromosomal aberrations; renal insufficiency; well-being; immune function; meningococcal meningitis; aortic valve stenosis; cataracts and lens opacities; myeloid progenitor cells; coronary heart disease and vascular access complication NIH research portfolio NIH Report report.nih.gov/index.aspx Department of Defense Predoctoral and postdoctoral training; idea development; new Congressionally Directed investigator and investigator-initiated research Medical Research Programs One award to AFRRI in 2005 to study the carcinogenicity of cdmrp.army.mil embedded tungsten alloys in mice SOURCES: DoD, 2013; FBO.gov, 2013; HHS, 2013; NIH, 2013a,b.
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; Novartis Vaccines; Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire; Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul; Group Health Cooperative; University of California, San Francisco; Baptist Health South Florida; Total Cardiovascular Solutions; Centre Oscar Lambret; CINECORS–Hospital Ernesto Dornelles NIH AHRQ, FIC, NCI, NEI, NHLBI, NIA, NIAID, NIAMS, NIBB, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIEHS, NIGMS, NIMH, NIMHD, NINDS, NINR, NIOSH, NLMOD, VA with investigator affiliations at universities, for profit companies, hospitals, medical schools, and university hospitals; other governmental agencies DoD Yale; Virginia Commonwealth University; University of California, San Diego, and San Francisco; Cornell Medical College; University of Arizona; Stanford University
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From page 68... ...
. It may thus be the case that millennial-generation radiobiology researchers, AAPM 13 26 24 20 17 HPS 3 14 27 32 24 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent of Membership 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 Over 60 FIGURE 3-1 Age distribution of the members of the AAPM (2013)
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From page 69... ...
More generally, the number of retiring society members cannot be directly linked to the number of graduating master's and doctoral stu dents in radiation-related disciplines because that connection assumes that graduates will become members and that individuals from other fields and educational backgrounds do not join these societies. But as described early in this chapter, radiobiology researchers come from a variety of disciplines.
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2013. Personal communication, responses to questions posed by the Institute of Medicine Committee on Research Directions in Human Biological Effects of Low-Level Ionizing Radiation to the Health Physics Society by Barbara Hamrick, JD, CHP.
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2013. About the Health Physics Society.
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Health Physics News, September, pp.
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survey of radiation biology educators in U.S. and Canadian radiation oncology residency programs.
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